Good Enough
by raspberryjukebox
Summary: Draco and Hermione reconnect during the Battle of Hogwarts, after a year apart. Oneshot. Slightly AU. Inspired by Evanescence's 'Good Enough', though not a Song-Fic.


_Hello there, my darlings! This fic was inspired by Evanescence, specifically the wonderful song "Good Enough". I encourage you to check it out, it's absolutely beautiful. What caught my attention was this:_

**Good enough,**  
**I feel good enough for you.**

_I started thinking, "I need a fic where Draco feels that he IS good enough for Hermione, and he proves that by turning to the Light waaaay before he did in the books."_

_So, here's that fic._

_It's a little AU, it takes place during the Battle of Hogwarts, but flashes back to their 7th year at Hogwarts. In the books, the Golden Trio was on the run 7th year, and Draco was shut up in his mansion. SO, we're going to put that off another year in this fic ;)_

_Are you excited yet?_

* * *

The battle was raging around him, but Draco only had eyes for the witch a little ways before him. She was truly terrifying, and her power emanated from her in waves. She twirled and ducked, shot curses and sheilds from her wand with a fierce, Gryffindor determination that Draco knew he would cower before. He stood, transfixed, in the middle of chaos, drinking her in. As her Sheild Charm spread across her body, she glanced in his direction.

Her burning chocolate eyes pulled him back in time.  
_

Those gorgeous eyes stared at his from across the Great Hall. Hermione Granger was surrounded by her little Gryffindor friends, the picture of innocence and dignity. A picture enhanced by the Head Girl badge on her chest.

But Draco knew better.

He nodded at her, his Head Boy badge glinting the the candlelight. A little smirk licked up the corner of her mouth, and she tilted her head towards him before turning back to Ginny, or Minnie, or whatever the hell the Weaslette's name was.

He couldn't wait until night, when they were scheduled to patrol the corridors together. He had a feeling there wouldn't actually _be_ much patrolling.

**/x/**

He waited in the shadow of a suit of armor. When he heard light footsteps coming in his direction, he tensed, ready to strike.

Draco pressed himself further into the shadows.

As she passed, tumbled auburn curls shining softly in the low light, a predatory grin stretched across his pale face. His arm shot out and grabbed hers, pulling her into the shadows with him.

Hermione immediately had her wand at his throat. She gazed tensely into his silver eyes, the tip of her smoking wand burning his skin. She lowered her wand. Then, oh so slowly, she stood on her toes, and kissed the burn.

And all at once he had her pressed against the wall, his lips on hers, tounge seeking access into her familiar, soft mouth. She granted it, and their lips crushed together, tounges dancing cruelly. Her hands twisted in his white blond hair, and he pressed his hand into the small of her back, pulling her tighter to him.

The Gryffindor Princess and the Slytherin Prince shed all labels. They were burning in the flames of their desire, and nothing else mattered.

After a while, they pulled apart. Foreheads touching, breath coming heavy, mingling together. They came slowly back to themselves.

Draco gave a low chuckle, which Hermione echoed. Kissing him under his ear, she whispered into his skin, "Don't suprise me next time. I'd hate to accidentaly curse your lips off. Then where would we be?"

"Where indeed?" He murmured. They straightened their clothes. Draco tucked a stray curl behind her ear, then leaned down and gave her an excruciatingly gentle kiss.

The pair set off down the hallway together. As they rounded a corner, their fingers linked, then locked together.  
_

Hermione wasn't thinking. Instinct took over as hexes flung around her. She fought back, defending and attacking with a ferocity she did not know she possesed. Her school, her _home_, was being destroyed before her eyes, and she was damned if she wasn't going to make them pay. A small voice at the back of her mind was screaming its misery.

Harry was dead. He'd emerged from the forest in Hagrid's arms, followed by a triumphant Voldemort.

The bastard was going to _die_.

As a Death Eater shot a jet of blue at her, her shield exploded out of her wand, wrapping her body, and out of nowhere she saw Draco Malfoy, standing in the midst of the battle. Staring at her.

He was alive.

Hermione hadn't seen him for almost a year, not since that day at his manor. She had assumed he would be given the death penalty for his betrayal to the Death Eaters, to his parents. Looked like he got away.

_Thank Merlin._  
_

"Come now, Draco, tell us. Is this not Harry Potter?" The gleeful voice of Bellatrix Lestrange seemed wildly inappropriate under the circumstances. Hermione, Ron, and Harry had been snatched, and brought to Malfoy Manor, where they would most likely be tortured to the brink of insanity, then killed.

Bollocks.

Draco walked forward, towards Harry, who's face looked like it had been attacked by a hiveful of bees. Hermione tried, tried desperately not to look at him, but failed miserably. Gods, it had been so long since she'd seen him! She had spent many sleepless nights in the tent wondering what had happened to him, if he was alright, if he was still being forced to serve Voldemort.

If he still loved her.

She barely heard his non-answer back to Bellatrix, so consumed with worry that he'd moved on from her, from them. _She_ hadn't. Hermione still loved him, ached for him with every bone in her body.

"Well, what about her? Isn't this the mudblood, Granger?" Hermione was hauled up, and turned to face Draco. He stepped right up to her, his silver eyes burning into hers. The silence seemed to stretch on forever.

"No. Most definitely not. I'd recgonize Granger, Aunt Bella, and this isn't her. I'm pretty sure this is some Ravenclaw. Half-blood, I think."

He still loved her. His eyes, and lie, told her this more surely than his mouth ever could.

Bellatrix gave a little scream of fury. "Fine, then! Fine! Draco, take these worthless teenagers into the dungeons. We can deal with them later. The rest of you," she addressed the Snatchers. "Get out. Now."

She continued to yell over their requests for payment, and Draco seized Hermione's arm, then Harry's. He nodded to Ron, who followed, not about to leave his best friends in the company of a Death Eater. They walked down a small flight of stone stairs, and before reaching the door at the end, stopped. Harry and Ron looked confused, but Hermione understood.

"I'm getting you all out of here. They'll realize I lied soon enough, and you'll be dead if you stay here. Everybody grab hands," Draco commanded, and when they had, he twisted them into a black void.

They reappeard on the shore of a deserted, rocky beach. Draco released them from their bindings and handed them back their wands. Harry looked at him warily. "Why? Why, after all those years of hating us, would you set us free? You could die," he said accusingly.

Draco had eyes only for Hermione. "I don't hate you. At least, not all of you," he said quietly. Hermione gave him a little smile, throat tightening when she thought of what he had just done to himself.

"Boys, set up camp. I need to speak with Draco," she commanded. "Alone. Now _go_," Hermione added sternly, when they gave sounds of protest. Hermione and Draco walked a little ways down the beach, and she took his hand, not caring that Harry and Ron could see. They would know soon enough.

Draco stopped, and took her other hand. His gaze met hers, and unspoken messages passed through them. Hermione broke free of his hands and slid hers around his neck, pulling him close to her.

"You have to go, don't you, " she asked, sorrow already creeping into her voice. He held her to him gently, hand winding into her hair.

"Yes. He can find me with my damned Mark. I've already put you in enough danger by staying this long." His voice was grim, and determined. _Draco would not let himself be the death of Hermione._

She nodded into his neck, and a sob escaped her. Planting a kiss on his cheek, she withdrew. "You must keep yourself safe, Draco. I can't lose you, now that I've found you again."

He tucked her hair behind her ear, like he used to so often at Hogwarts. "I will."

Draco took a step back, and turned away. Looking over his shoulder, memorizing the exact color of her chocolate eyes, he whispered, "I love you."

And he was gone.

Hermione trudged back to the tent, arms wrapped around her torso, red eyes brimming with tears. She could hear Harry and Ron running towards her, but she did not look up. Until she heard Ron scream, "What the BLOODY HELL was _that_?"  
_

Draco was sprinting, sprinting to where she lay. As they'd gazed across the Hall at each other, a curse had shattered her shield, and Hermione had crumpled. Draco threw hexes at everyone in his way, blind to their faces, eyes only for the auburn curls he could see strewn across the stone. When he reached her, he threw his body over hers, protecting it. He grabbed her wrist. She still had a strong pulse. Taking her face in his hands, he tried to will her to open her eyes. Then, Draco remembered he had a wand.

"_Reenervate_!"

Hermione's eyelashes fluttered, and she found Draco hovering over her, hands whispering against her skin. He moaned in relief, and pressed a quick kiss to her forehead before scooping her up in his arms.

He carried her over the the wall, where the wounded were gathered, dodging every hex and curse sent their way. Laying her down gently, he asked, "How do you feel? What hurts?"

Hermione shrugged, struggling to see what was going on in the battle. "Nothing hurts, really, I just feel very... Fatigued." He nodded, his frantic heartbeat slowing a bit. That's when they heard it.

"NOT MY DAUGHTER, YOU _BITCH_!"

Draco and Hermione whipped their heads around to the source of the scream. Everyone was backing up, leaving Molly Weasly to duel with Bellatrix Lestrange alone. To their right was the Dark Lord, battling three Order members and laughing.

Until Bellatrix fell.

His scream of fury pierced the air, and Hermione shut her eyes. Molly, her mother in the Wizarding world, was going to die, she was going to die.

And then Harry appeared, out of thin air.

Hermione couldn't think. It was all too much. She had dealt, somewhat, with the fact that her best friend was dead. She had not yet mourned, but accepted it. And now, there he stood. As he and Voldemort began circling, Draco held Hermione to him, to protect her from whatever the outcome would be. To protect her from her own mind, which seemed to have swallowed her up for the moment.

Two voices rang out, simultaneously. As though rehearsed.

"_Avada Kedavra_!"

Time slowed down, the jets of green taking a thousand years to reach each other, crawling slowly, leisurely through the empty space, uncaring...

And Lord Voldemort lay dead on the floor.

**/x/**

It had been hours. Hours, since the Dark Lord had been vanquished. A feast was being devoured in the Great Hall, and the Boy-Who-Lived was being passed along, person-to-person, accepting gratitude and loving admiration.

Draco and Hermione had seen none of the celebration, however.

They had crept back to the Head common room they had shared the year before, and were cuddled on the couch in front of a roaring fire. Draco's arms surrounded Hermione, keeping her in this moment, keeping her safe. The couple talked, and kissed, and other times just sat in comfortable silence.

Sometimes, you don't need words.

Sometimes, love is strong enough to fill the empty air.

* * *

_I hope you liked this story! I know I enjoyed writing it immensley! Now, you might have some questions- Why did Harry have to use Avada Kedavra? Well, remember that in the books, Harry overcomes Draco at the manor and takes his wand, yadda yadda, etc, he is the owner of the Elder Wand. Now, since that didn't happen in my fic, if Harry had not used the Killing Curse, he would be dead. Voldemort would not be. It wouldn't have been a very happy ending, you see. ;)_  
_Please review! Thank you for reading, my lovelies!_

_Cheers,_  
_Raspberryjukebox_


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